Natural Air Purifier, Pohang 'Buk-gu Office Urban Forest' ... Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading System Promotion

Buk-gu Office and Kkumtree Center Urban Forest Apply for Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading System Registration

Expected Annual Reduction of 5 Tons of Greenhouse Gases, Possible Sales to Companies and Additional Revenue Generation

Pohang City applied for a new project under the 'Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading System' to be certified as a carbon sink by combining the Buk-gu Office urban forest and the Kkumtree Center urban forest.

Pohang-si Buk-gu Office.

The 'Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading System' is a representative carbon reduction policy implemented in many countries around the world, including the EU. It allocates an annual set amount of greenhouse gas emissions to emitting companies to meet the national total greenhouse gas emission targets and allows trading of deficits and surpluses.

The Buk-gu Office and Kkumtree Center in Pohang were long-dormant sites due to physical environmental decline and population decrease in the old downtown area, but were reborn as spaces harmonizing culture, administration, and urban forests through the Urban Regeneration New Deal project.

In particular, Yukgeori, where the Buk-gu Office is located, still experiences heavy commuter vehicle traffic within the area. The Buk-gu Office urban forest was established in the old downtown area, where green space was significantly lacking compared to vehicle traffic and floating population, receiving great support from local residents.

The Buk-gu Office urban forest is planted with 882 trees of 36 species including Zelkova trees, and with various large and small trees, it serves as a healing space for citizens as well as functioning as a forest in the center of the old downtown area where green space is insufficient.

Urban forests provide healing spaces that promote citizens' health and psychological stability while walking, and beyond that, they play the role of natural air purifiers, significantly reducing fine dust and mitigating the heat island effect.

According to the National Institute of Forest Science, one tree absorbs 2.5 tons of carbon dioxide annually and releases 1.8 tons of oxygen, and one hectare of urban forest can lower the average daytime temperature by about 3 to 7 degrees Celsius.

The Buk-gu Office urban forest and Kkumtree Center urban forest are expected to reduce an average of 5 tons of greenhouse gases annually, and the reduction amount can be sold to companies needing emission rights through the exchange, generating additional revenue.

Currently, Pohang City has four sites registered under the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading System: Pohang Railway Forest, Haedo Urban Forest, Lifelong Learning Center Cultural Forest, and Yeonil Neighborhood Park.

Lee Kyung-sik, Director of the Greenway Promotion Division, said, “We will actively utilize local urban forests to reduce greenhouse gases and move forward as a leading carbon-neutral city. We will do our best to revitalize the area by creating urban forests in the old downtown and transform it into a green ecological city equipped with climate change response capabilities.”